Peaceful Greetings Friends. After 22 years the book is finally complete and published.

Working the Roots: Over 400 Years of Traditional African American Healing

Available now on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and soon coming to your local bookstore. I am updating this blog so stay tuned. In the meantime, for updates and information you can also visit / friend me on my facebook page at Michele Elizabeth Lee, or contact me at workingtheroots@gmail.com

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Sunday, December 4, 2011

The Yanomami people of the Amazon Rainforest who live along the border of Venezuela and Brazil have one of the lowest recorded blood pressure readings around the world with an average of 90/60. (Image courtesy of edbuzz.org)

(Image courtesy of publicanthropology.org)

Yes, they live in a society free from the stressors of the modern world, yet their culture has been described as one “that encourages aggression and a life of chronic warfare with violence and tension.” The key to their low blood pressure is their dietary salt intake. It is <0.5 mg per day. They represent the ultimate human example of the relationship between dietary salt intake and high blood pressure.

Among the Masai people of Kenya in East Africa, there is not one person suffering with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease or obesity. Studies confirm that many who live in rural tribes and villages throughout Africa and other parts of the world have much lower blood pressure than those living in urban areas. (Image courtesy of kilimanjaro-mountain.org)

The key common denominator is maintaining a balanced diet that is naturally low in salt.

Heart disease or cardiovascular disease associated with high blood pressure is the leading cause of death for people of all races and cultures around the globe.

Unequivocally, around the globe, in every demographic group, research confirms that ADDING SALT TO YOUR DIET INCREASES BLOOD PRESSURE.

(Image courtesy of dailyfitnessmagz.org)

Humanity has known this for thousands of years. The earliest medical comment that relates dietary salt to blood pressure was recorded in 1700 BC and comes from Chinese physician Huang Ti Nei Ching Su Wein who stated, ". . . therefore if large amounts of salt are taken, the pulse will stiffen and harden." (Translated by Wan Ping, AD 762.)

There are other contributors that could also increase and compound high blood pressure in addition to dietary salt as well. Stress, a magnesium deficiency, lack of exercise and movement of the body, obesity, and a poor diet that is high in fat and includes too many packaged, processed and prepared foods can cause high blood pressure and lead to other chronic health problems.

The daily-recommended sodium health intake is:
Under age 51: 1,500 mg per day
Ages 51-70: 1,300 mg per day
Ages 70+: 1,200 mg per day.

The average American consumes 3400 mg. of sodium per day, way over the recommended amount. To give you an idea of how much this is, 1 teaspoon of table salt is 2325 mg.

Some foods naturally contain sodium like dairy, meat, shellfish and vegetables. They do not contain a high degree of salt but it contributes to your overall salt intake. 1 cup of milk has 107 mg. of sodium. And, sodium is essential for our body functioning in small amounts. Sodium, salt is harvested in the sea and on land. Some people think sea salt is better for you than iodized salt, but research shows and many health professionals say sea salt impacts our body the same way.

(Salt farming in Thailand. Courtesy of Thailandofsmiles.com)

The vast amount of sodium in the American diet comes from processed and prepared foods that typically have high sodium content.

Many prepared foods from restaurants market themselves as healthy alternatives but have high sodium content. Six-inch subway sandwiches have very high sodium content that exceeds or almost meets our recommended daily dosage in one serving! Some of these readings are below.

A Chick Fil A Hard-grilled Chicken Club sandwich contains 1460 mg. of sodium.

El Pollo loco Jalapeno Chicken Sandwich contains 2017 mg. of sodium.

You can’t always tell how much sodium foods contain by tasting them. To help lower your sodium intake, get in the habit of reading the nutrition facts label found on packages. You can also find nutrition guides of most common restaurant chains online.

Below is a list of salt and sodium-containing compounds in most packaged and processed foods. When you see these products on the label, you know the sodium content is high:

Surprisingly, medicines such as the antacids Alka-Seltzer and Bromo-Seltzer have rich sodium content. A two-tablet dose of Alka-Seltzer contains 995 milligrams of sodium while Bromo-Seltzer contains 761 milligrams in just one tablet. These two "medicines" contain more sodium to your diet than many processed foods.

(Image courtesy of leighhouse.typepad.com

OTHER WAYS TO LOWER AND MAINTAIN HEALTHY BLOOD PRESSURE LEVELS:

Black folk medicine remedies

Joe Hayes, legendary water-diviner of Paradise, North Carolina, regularly harvests YELLOW ROOT aka GOLDENSEAL and makes a water infused tea that he sips on daily to maintain normal blood pressure and to ward off illness. Hydrastine, a chemical in goldenseal is shown to reduce blood pressure. Goldenseal also contains the chemical berberine which may have the opposite effect. If you start using goldenseal, make sure you take your blood pressure to see how it affects you and if it is elevated, stop using it; goldenseal is not for you. Joe Hayes also takes a daily swig of cod liver oil, rich with Omega 3's, which help prevent heart disease and lowers blood pressure.

Wild harvested YellowRoot tonic recipe

Harvest a bunch full of yellow root, pulling up the plant from the root.
Clean off the dirt with luke warm water.
Break the root into 1-2" size pieces and fill a pint sized mason jar 1/4 to 1/2 with the root.
Fill the jar with luke warm water and let sit for a day until the water turns deep yellow.
Take a sip, 1-3 times daily until all gone.
Wait a week and repeat process.

Or, you can buy the Yellowroot tincture known as Goldenseal and swallow a dropperful under the tongue or in a cup of warm water 1-3 times a week. Follow recommended dosage and if your pressure elevates, discontinue use.

EAT 2 CLOVES OF GARLIC DAILY

Eating 2 cloves of garlic daily will lower your blood pressure. Just chop it up and sprinkle it on your meals. Add a raw clove as a condiment to your meals or add it to your dish.

Ma Mare Mamie Cerre (aka Salena Gray, b.1888, d. 1960) of New Orleans, Louisiana added several cloves of garlic and bay leaves to her meals regularly. She would also tie garlic cloves around her head and let them hang from her neck to ease headaches.

BAY LEAF REDUCES BLOOD PRESSURE AND RELIEVES MIGRAINE HEADACHES.

Add 3-4 leaves regularly to dishes like stews, soups, casseroles, meats and vegetables. Make a tea using 2-3 dried or fresh bay leaves, letting them steep in 1 cup of hot water for 10 minutes. Drink 2-3 times a day.

SEASON WITH COLORFUL HERBS INSTEAD OF SALT TO BOOST FLAVOR. The herbs and spices below enhance any meal and are also medicinal. Ginger, cayenne, garlic and bay all reduce blood pressure.

Mr. Red in front of his house honoring a plant he uses as medicine, 1998. Paradise Settlement, Laurel Hill, NC

e to purchase in late 2011.

"When you die, you take the knowledge wit ya."

Ms. Sally McCloud, Sandhills region of North Carolina. 1997

"Buttongrass is good for colds. You make a tea wit it. My mother used to give us this during school. Wouldn't know it if I saw it, but my mother, you know, like when chil'ren be going to school, she use it for that. Of course, all mothers along in there, when i come along did it. Stay out the doctor's office too. Pills cost so much today!"

Working The Roots is a site that serves as a voice to explore folk healers and medicine. Incorporating folk remedies into a health plan should be discussed with your medical resource as some remedies may adversely affect your health condition.

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